


Baby, Are You A Bomb? Cause You Blow Me Away

by orphan_account



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Bad Puns, Cheesy 60's Style Superhero-ing, M/M, Murder, Swearing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-21
Updated: 2013-07-14
Packaged: 2017-12-15 16:22:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/851577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>X-Ray and Vav are a crime fighting duo in the city of New York, and they handle the usual hare-brained villainous schemes just fine. But there's something looming on the horizon that they might not be able to handle themselves. And if they can't, everything might just go out with a bang.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Don't move!”

Vav threw his hands up in the motion of surrender as the lone gunman pointed his pistol at him. Beside him, X-Ray mirrored the stance, fidgeting a bit as he tried to count the number of hostages in the room.

The two superheroes had been on patrol, heading down 5th Avenue, when they'd heard about a bank robbery currently going on. The police hadn't arrived yet, so X-Ray and Vav took matters into their own hands, as they often did.

“Don't think you wanna do that, mate,” Vav piped up as he heard the sound of sirens in the distance. The robber seemed to hear them too, as he tensed up, moving so both hands were holding the gun. His hands were still shaking though, and the last thing they needed was a nervous robber in a room full of innocent people.

“Hey X-Ray, is it getting a little warm in here?”

“Yeah, I'm melting,” X-Ray replied, the lenses of his goggles glowing a bright red, before a beam shot out toward the robber's gun. The man yelped, dropping the now-melted weapon to the ground. Before he had a chance to recover, Vav's fist connected with his face and he fell over, knocked out cold.

“Ah, damn!” Vav hissed, shaking his hand and frowning, “That bloody hurt!”

“Stop punching dudes in the face than.” X-Ray laughed, nudging the downed robbed with his foot. “He's out, though. Let's get these guys outta here,” he nodded toward the hostages, who were now nervously moving from their huddled positions. Outside, the police had finally arrived, setting up barricades and speaking into a megaphone.

Vav didn't bother listening to whatever they had to say, instead making his way over to one of the hostages, a young boy with dark brown hair.

“Hey there,” he said, kneeling down, “the bad guy's been taken care of! He's not gonna be able to hurt you.” he grinned. The boy's eyes seemed to widen, but he didn't say anything, only slowly nodding. Vav frowned at that, “Really, you don't need to be afraid anymore--”

“I'm not scared!” the boy replied suddenly, sounding indignant. “I just...” he reached into his pocket, pulling out an iPhone, “Can I get a picture with you and X-Ray?!” he hurriedly asked, sounding excited. Vav stared a moment before laughing and patting the kid on the shoulder, “Sure thing, buddy. What's your name?” 

“Sam.” the boy grinned, showing his missing front teeth, making Vav laughed, and helping him to his feet. He grabbed X-Ray and the three posed, Sam's grateful (and still a little shaky) mother taking the picture.

After helping Sam and the remainder of the hostages outside, the police were quick to move in to arrest the unconscious robber. The hostages were just grateful to leave the bank, given bottles of water and asked for statements by some detectives.

“Nice work!” One of the detectives said as the two superheroes walked out, clapping X-Ray on the shoulder. “You guys got some admirers, if you're up to it.” he added, pointing at the crowd of reporters and photographers standing just outside the barrier, shouting for the superheroes' attention.

“I'll handle this,” Vav smirked, brushing invisible dirt from his costume as he strutted over to the group, X-Ray laughing and following after him.

“X-Ray, Vav! This is the second robbery you've stopped this week. How does it feel knowing you do the police's job better than they do?”

Vav laughed at the question, the reporter obviously having a dislike for the police department. “I wouldn't say better, just...different, you know?”

“We do pretty much the same job,” X-Ray shrugged, “it's just that we have lasers and can fly.” There was a collective laugh from the reporters, but it wasn't long before questions were being shouted out again.

“There have been rumors of the mayor awarding you with the key to the city. Is that true?”

“We haven't heard anything about that,” X-Ray replied, “but uh, shout out to the mayor! Really, just great stuff you've been doing with the city, love the new bench at the park. Some statues of us would look great next to it.”

They answered a few more questions from the press before a couple of teenage girls managed to shove their way to the front, gripping the barricade so they wouldn't be easily moved.

“Vav!” One of them shouted, waving a piece of paper with her phone number scrawled on it in his face, “Call me! We could go on a date sometime!”

He laughed nervously, looking over at X-Ray, who didn't seem to be faring much better, one of the girls grabbing onto his sleeve.

“A date? I dunno if I'd have enough free time for... a... date,” Vav paused, the cogs in his brain starting to turn, and his eyes widened. “A date! Oh damn, I have to go!” Without warning, he took off to the air, a gust of wind blowing the girl's number out of her hand as X-Ray shouted “Hey!” But Vav was already out of earshot, and out of sight in a matter of moments.

“Dammit,” He muttered, looking down at the landmarks he passed until he spotted his apartment building. He quietly landed on the open window sill of his and Michael's shared apartment, cautiously peeking inside to make sure the other man wasn't home. Once he was sure the coast was clear, Vav stepped down onto the floor, before speeding off to the bedroom to remove his suit.

He fiddled with the clasps at the back, having trouble for a few moments before they finally came un-done. Gavin practically tore the outfit off and threw it to the floor, before grabbing a pair of pants that looked clean enough, and a t-shirt from the closet. Pulling them on, he glanced in the mirror to straighten himself up, blinking when he realized he was still wearing his eye mask. He untied it and pulled it off, before running a hand through his unkempt hair.

“Good enough!” he nodded to his mirror counterpart, grabbing his discarded suit and mask and placing them in the hidden drawer he kept in the dresser. Grabbing his keys, the brunet sped out the door and down the stairs, nearly knocking over a woman who was on her way up in the process.  
“Sorry!” He shouted behind him, but didn't stop in his descent.

The cafe he was supposed to meet Michael at for lunch was only a few blocks away, and it only took a few minutes for Gavin to run there. He'd completely forgotten that they'd planned lunch for the day; the bank robbery could have been finished a lot quicker had he not been pissing around.

Gavin skidded to a halt once he reached the building, a quaint little place called The Patch. He and Michael had been going there for months and it had sort of become their unofficial hang out.

The bell on the door jingled as Gavin stepped inside, his face red as he panted, trying to catch his breath. The air conditioning hit him and the sudden temperature change made him gag into his fist, causing the patrons of the cafe to turn and look at him.

“Oh, hey Gavin.” a perky voice said from behind the counter, and Gavin looked up, smiling awkwardly at Barbara. He coughed once, before approaching the counter, resting his fingers on the glass and tapping them impatiently. 

“Hey Barb,” he greeted, “you uh, you haven't seen Michael around, have you?”

The blonde looked apologetic and nodded, “Yeah, he left about a half hour ago, though.”

Gavin sighed, frustrated, “Alright... thanks.” He looked down at the assortment of desserts beneath the glass with a disheartened look.

“Missed another date, huh?” Barbara asked, though it was pretty obvious she already knew the answer, “Well, why don't you make it up with a date?” she grinned, and wiggled her eyebrows, grabbing a container with a slice of cake in it from the display beneath the counter, setting it in front of Gavin. “Date cake, that is. It's got toffee, too. New recipe.”

She watched Gavin for a moment, and, seeing that her clever pun hadn't gotten so much as a smile, she pushed the dish toward him. “Come on, it's on the house. He wouldn't hit a guy who gives him cake. Probably.”

“Thanks,” Gavin replied, a small smile on his face as he grabbed the plastic container. He stepped away, turning to leave before he stopped and looked back at the blonde. “Er, was he mad?”

Barbara shrugged, “He was for a little bit, but he wasn't yelling or cussing or anything, so he couldn't have been that mad,” she reasoned, knowing full-well what an angry Michael usually looked and sounded like.

Somehow, that news didn't seem to make Gavin feel any better, but he smiled at Barbara again, “Alright, thanks again.” He clutched the container close as he headed out the door to journey to Michael's job. As he made his way down the sidewalk, his cell phone vibrated in his pocket, letting out a shrill squawking noise that drew a few looks.

Pulling it out of his pocket, he saw he had a new text from Ray, which simply read 'asshole.' He couldn't help but laugh, shooting him a quick, stupid reply, before noticing the other text messages he'd missed.

–

**From: Michael**

12:26 PM

Where are you?

–

**From: Michael**

12:40

WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU

–

**From: Michael**

12:45

Prick

–

“Whoops,” he muttered, exiting out of the messages and pocketing his phone again. Hopefully the other man wasn't too pissed off at him, Gavin thought as he consciously increased his walking speed, feeling anxious.

It was a good twenty minutes before he finally reached Michael's work—a mechanic's shop run by Geoff Ramsey, who just so happened to be a family friend.

Gavin coughed as he stepped into the garage, the smell of car exhaust causing him to make a face. The place seemed pretty deserted though, and the usual overpowering noise from machinery was missing, which meant that Geoff had gone home. The distant sound of music playing got Gavin's attention though, and he made his way across the large space. Along the way he passed cars in various states of disarray before he found the source of the sound.

An iPhone was sat in a speaker on one of the metal carts, surrounded by wrenches and grease rags, playing a song he recognized but didn't actually know the name of. Beside the cart was a silver Honda Civic, it's front bumper a little dented, but it was the shoes sticking out from under the car that grabbed Gavin's attention. The black boots were dirty and scuffed, and Gavin recognized them immediately, smiling as he lightly tapped one with his foot.

There was a bit of shuffling and clanking noises before Michael appeared from underneath the car, laying on a rolling tray. He was wearing a white tank top, and his coveralls were tied around his waist, no doubt because of the hot temperature. Grease was smudged on his nose and forehead, causing Gavin to grin down at him. Michael, however, frowned when he saw the other man, and he sat up, resting his elbows on his knees.

When the curly-haired man didn't say anything, Gavin held the cake out to him, smiling sheepishly. “I'm really sorry. Really really sorry,” he said as Michael took the plastic container, raising his eyebrow at the slice of cake inside, before looking up at Gavin again.

“This is the third fuckin' time you've either been late or missed a date entirely.” Michael replied, scowling now. “I hate sitting around at places fucking waiting for you! You got something better to do than eat lunch with me, asshole?”

“No!” Gavin yelped, holding up his hands in a show of surrender, “I mean... not... no! I just...” he rubbed the back of his head, trying to think up a plausible excuse. “I dunno, I just lose track of time, and...”

“And you're an idiot,” Michael deadpanned, opening the small cake container with a quiet pop. “I'm gonna eat this goddamn cake, but you better have something else planned to make it up to me, cause this is fuckin' bullshit.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure, course.” Gavin grinned, squatting beside the other man and kissing him on the cheek. Michael huffed, before grumbling, “You didn't even bring me a fork, you piece of shit.”

“You don't need a fork!” the Brit laughed, reaching over to scoop some frosting onto his finger, sticking the digit into his mouth. “Nasty! I don't know where your fuckin hands have been,” Michael snapped in reply, though the heat from before was missing. There was a moment's pause before he added, “you're gonna get me another slice after this,” and he grabbed the cake, smushing it against Gavin's face. 

The younger man squawked, reeling back and falling on his ass as Michael finally cracked a smile, giggling loudly.

“Aw, bloody...” Gavin put on his best pout, “that was damn unnecessary, Michael.” He wiped some of the cake and icing off of his face and looked down, realizing some had fallen onto his shirt as well. “You know how to make a right mess,” he laughed, looking up again. “Come here!” he reached forward, puckering his lips as his face got dangerously close to his boyfriend's.

“Fuck off!” Michael laughed, shoving him back and getting to his feet. He grabbed a somewhat clean rag from the cart, tossing it in Gavin's face, “Clean yourself up, moron.”

Gavin grabbed the cloth and closed his eyes as he attempted to clean the cake and frosting off of his face. “I think I got it in my eye, Michael!” Gavin complained, rubbing his eyes while Michael rolled his.

“Suck it up, you baby.” he replied, reaching over to take the cloth back; Gavin blinked a few times before grinning up at the other man and getting to his feet. When he reached for Michael again, he wasn't pushed away, and he wrapped his arms around the shorter man, squeezing him and pressing vanilla-flavored kisses against his lips.

“Dumbass,” Michael mumbled between kisses, hugging Gavin back. After a moment, he pulled away and went to gather his stuff, pulling his iPhone off the dock and effectively cutting off the music.

“You leaving?” Gavin asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise—he figured Michael would be staying late to finish up the car he was working on. The other man shrugged, “May as well. Geoff isn't here, and I got jipped out of a date. I think I deserve to go home.”

“Michael!” Gavin whined, feeling guilty all over again and frowning. “Gavin!” the other man mimicked, making fun of the Brit's accent. He put his iPhone in his pocket and patted the small of Gavin's back, “C'mon, you can start making it up to me by giving me a back rub when we get home.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: Double post fixed

Gavin sighed and pressed his face into the warm cushioning of his pillow as he shifted in bed. Through the window, streaks of light managed to sneak past the blinds and fell onto the bed as well as directly onto Gavin's face. He squinted and shuffled closer to the body next to him, keeping hidden from the brightness by nuzzling Michael's neck. Gavin wrapped his arm around the other man's torso and it didn't take long for him to fall asleep again, not ready to face the day just yet.

When he woke up again, he was alone in bed, the covers thrown back in a mess. The spot beside him was cool now, and he lifted his head to look around the room blearily. The clock on the bedside table read 9 AM and, with a groan, he pushed the covers back to stumble out of bed.

He could hear the sound of their TV on low and the smell of coffee as it filled the air. With a sleepy grin, he made his way out of the bedroom and spotted Michael as he stood in front of their coffee machine. He could hear him as he tapped his fingers against the counter while yawning.

Gavin padded across the floor behind the other man and hugged him from behind, then rested his head on his shoulder.

“Morning, Mikey Wikey,” the Brit smiled, while Michael sighed, mumbling about not having his coffee yet. Gavin couldn't resist to press a kiss against the shorter man's cheek, before he went to plop down on the couch, taking up as much space as possible.

The news was on, and Gavin lit up when he realized they were talking about the bank robbery he and Ray had stopped yesterday. They even interviewed the kid they'd met, Sam, on what it was like and they showed the picture the three had taken together. He lost interest when the segment ended and he peeked over the top of the couch to watch Michael in the kitchen, who had poured the coffee into two mugs. When he started to add the cream and sugar, Gavin smiled at his back—Michael knew exactly how he liked his coffee.

When Michael turned from the counter with mugs in hand, he stopped and raised an eyebrow at Gavin, who only sat up straighter then reached forward, grabbing for his coffee. The freckled man rolled his eyes, but handed Gavin his coffee before walking around to sit beside him on the couch.

Gavin watched Michael take a long sip of his drink before doing so himself, smacking his lips once he'd swallowed.

“S'good,” he said as he took another sip, then set the mug down on the coffee table and scooted closer to Michael, who still hadn't perked up quite yet. Gavin rested his head on the other man's shoulder, before he turned his attention back to the television.

“A man was hospitalized early this morning for radiation sickness. He is under quarantine, and we're unsure how severe the exposure was, or where it even came from. Now we go to Sarah Daniels who's live on the scene.”

The screen cut to outside the hospital, where a reporter was ready to continue the story. “Thanks, David. This is an extremely unusual occurrence; there have been no reports of radiation leakage from any of the nuclear plants, and everyone is just baffled as to how this could have happened. The police are looking into the situation, but at this point, the source of the radiation could be anywhere. They've already searched the victim's house and work and found nothing.”

They cut back to the reporter at the news station, “There will be more on this as the story progresses. For now...”

“What the fuck,” Michael said, who finally looked a little less like a zombie. “How the hell do you just get radiation sickness?”

Gavin shrugged, “Maybe he's been messin' with stuff he shouldn't be.” It was he was concerned, though; if there was a radiated area in the city, it could be literally anywhere. And the police didn't even know where to start looking. It wasn't good—and by the time they figured it out, more people might be hurt, or worse. He and Ray needed to have to look into it.

His train of thought was stopped when Michael sighed beside him and downed the rest of his coffee. “Gotta shower.” He said before getting up and making his way to the bedroom. Gavin watched him go, then grabbed the remote to change the channel to something a little more lighthearted. He was half-way through an episode of Kitchen Nightmares when Michael stepped into the living room again.

He was dressed in his work clothes, a grease-stained tank top and a dirty pair of coveralls, tied around his waist as usual. His curls were still wet and Gavin grinned at the towel he had draped over them. He sat down on the couch again, and reached down to pull his boots on. Meanwhile, Gavin sidled up next to him, he placed his hands on the towel and rubbed it on the other man's head to help his hair dry faster.

Michael laughed, sat up straight after he'd got his boots on and glanced at Gavin, who paused to lean in and kiss him. He felt Michael's smile against his lips and he pulled back after a moment, only because he needed to breathe. Gavin pulled the towel off of Michael's head and revealed the mess of damp curls underneath.

“Your hair's getting pretty long again,” he said then reached up to tug on one of the curls. Michael pushed his hand away and grabbed the towel, followed by a shrug, “Yeah. I should probably get it cut.” He kissed Gavin once more before he got up and placed the towel on top of the other man's head.

“I have work till eight tonight,” he continued then grabbed his keys from the kitchen table. Gavin nodded as he watched Michael get his things together, “See you then.” Michael headed out the door and locked it behind him.

Gavin took the bath towel off his head and got up to get ready for work as well.

–

To say that Gavin loved his job would be an understatement. It really didn't get much better than working at a hole-in-the-wall comic book store. From time to time, he laughed to himself about the irony of it. A superhero that worked at a comic book store; it was like something straight out of a movie.

They didn't get many customers, mainly just die-hard collectors who came in a few times a week to check for that one comic they still needed. It was nice, because it meant Gavin had a lot of down time while he was there. The owner didn't check up on him very often (read: never), and his co-worker spent the day asleep at the counter, re-runs of 1960's Batman playing quietly on the TV.

Gavin wiped his forehead with the back of his hand as he set down a box from the shipment they'd gotten for that day. Some new Marvel comics had come in, and he'd been given the task of unloading them from the truck. The Brit pulled out his box cutter, he cut a line down the middle of the last box, and revealed the stacks of comic books inside.

He pulled out a Thor comic and flipped through it for a moment, but lost interest pretty quickly. Gavin put it back on the stack and picked up the entire thing, carrying it over to the shelf where he had to stock them.

It was a good twenty minutes and three boxes later, before his phone vibrated in his pocket. Glad for a distraction, even momentarily, he pulled it out, seeing a text from Ray. All that was in the message was an address and the word 'fire'. Gavin sprang into action and headed to the backroom, removed his shirt and pants, to reveal his Vav costume underneath. He threw his clothes in his locker and slammed it shut before he took off out the back door.

–

When Vav arrived on the scene—a tall apartment building at the corner of Main and 7th—the fire was being contained to the area, but still roared. X-Ray was already there, and Vav quickly made his way over to him and the firemen beside him.

“Is anyone stuck inside?” He asked, looking to the firemen in concern. “It's hard to say.” The man replied, watching some of his men turn another fire hose onto the building. “None of the residents out here are missing anyone, but there could be someone trapped on the higher floors. We've got some men in there already, but it's too dangerous to send any more.”

"X-Ray? Can you see anyone inside?"

"Nah. The heat messes with my vision."

“Alright,” Vav nodded, staring up at the building, “we'll head in.”

“You start at the top, I'll start at the bottom,” X-Ray said, and before the fireman could protest, the two superheroes took off toward the building. Vav watched X-Ray dart inside through the front doors, before he flew up to the roof himself. He grabbed the handle to the door that lead inside but found it locked, so he quickly stepped back.

He took a deep breath, then screamed, his voice creating a sonic wave that shattered the metal handle. Vav shielded his eyes from the shards of metal that flew out, and once it was clear, he kicked what was left of the door down.

A billow of black smoke assaulted him and Vav narrowed his eyes before he held his breath then headed down the stairs, to the top floor. He bent down, crouched along the floor as he tried to navigate through the maze of fire and charred wood.

The first few apartments he checked were empty, most of the front doors wide open, hopeful signs that people had gotten out quickly. Finding no one on the top floor, he made his way to the staircase. Vav looked down the wooden stairs, not trusting them to hold his weight, but not wanting to fly for fear of breathing in more smoke.

Vav swallowed, then placed his hand on the wall and slowly made his way down the staircase, the wood creaking dangerously underneath his feet. He made it down a few more stairs this way, before one gave way beneath his foot, breaking and falling into the fire below. Vav jerked back, his heart had pounded in his chest as he leapt over the broken stair and ran down the remainder of the steps.

His shoulders slumped in relief when the floor stayed beneath him, and Vav quickly lowered again and began checking the floor's rooms. It seemed to be just as deserted as the floor before, until he froze, hearing a small, barely noticeable sound.

Keeping still, he strained his ears, waiting to hear it again, and hopefully determine where it was coming from. It was a few moments before he heard the sound again, and he immediately followed it, stopping at an apartment door that was closed. The sound was much louder now, and now that he could properly hear it, it sounded a lot like crying.

Vav reached up to grab the handle, freezing and ducking his head as part of the ceiling collapsed beside him, debris crashing into the floor. Luckily, the door wasn't locked, and he quickly opened it, stepping inside what was once a living room.

Part of the ceiling had collapsed in here as well, leaving large pieces of wood and plaster burning on the floor. Stepping over the mess, he moved to the bedroom and pushed the door open, only to have it blocked by debris.

“Damn,” he muttered to himself then peered in through the small space. What he saw made him freeze, his eyes widened. A woman was sprawled out on the carpet, a large piece of the ceiling sprawled on top of her prone form. Vav panicked as he rammed his shoulder against the door, hoping to get through.

It took a few tries, but eventually Vav was able to get past the door by slamming against it and dislodging the debris on the other side to let him through. He coughed at the dust and smoke that billowed into his face, but ignored it as best he could as he made his way to the woman.

He kneeled beside her, gripped the chunk of wood and plaster and grunted as he tried to lift it. It was times like these he wished he'd gotten super strength as a power. Unfortunately, all he had was sheer force of will, and it didn't seem to be enough, the wood cut through his gloves and into his fingers.

Vav couldn't lift it, and he swallowed nervously, letting go of it to finally peer at the woman's face. Her eyes were wide open, staring at nothing. He felt his heart drop, Vav reached out toward her neck, feeling for a pulse. There was none.

He stayed still for a moment, feeling the guilt of being unable to save her already weighed down on him. It was then that he heard a noise again, a small, almost-crying sound. His eyes burned, Vav jumped up and headed toward it, quickly opened the bathroom door to hopefully find the source.

And he spotted a small black kitten with its back against the wall, as it cried in fear.

“Ah,” Vav said shakily, he leant down and carefully reached out for the tiny animal. “It's okay, it's okay...come here...”

The kitten stared at him and continued to meow, not moving from its spot. With a shaky smile, Vav reached for the kitten and cautiously picked it up. It seemed to grasp that he was here to help, and quickly clung to him, burying itself against his chest as he held it close.

“Alright little buddy, let's get you out of here.”

Vav made his way back out of the bathroom, treading carefully along the fragile ground until he'd gotten back out to the hallway. With the kitten tucked against his chest, he continued to search the remainder of the building, but found no one else in need of help. On the 7th floor, he ran into X-Ray, who had covered his mouth with his hand.

“There's no one else,” Vav said as he made his way over to the other superhero. “There—there was a woman, but...but...”

X-Ray nodded slowly, getting the idea, “All the firefighters are out, and the lower floors are cleared. Let's get out of here.”

Vav agreed, not wanting to press their luck inside the building. Instead of running back down the stairs, he opted for the safer and easier way out. He wrapped his free arm around X-Ray's waist and he lifted up off the ground with some effort, having trouble carrying X-Ray's weight. He managed to soar through an open window, however, gritting his teeth until he was able to touch down on the ground in front of the building and let go of the other man.

Almost immediately, the two were ushered toward paramedics, who placed respirators over their mouths and noses. Vav breathed deeply, relishing the fresh air in his lungs as he glanced over at X-Ray who was doing the same. Both of their faces were blackened with soot and ash, and their costumes were going to need some TLC. 

He glanced down at the kitten that rested in his arm, Vav smiled then took off his respirator to place it over the animal's mouth. It was comically too big for the kitten, but he doubted the paramedics had another that would fit.

X-Ray and Vav stuck around a little while longer, watched as the firemen were able to start putting the flames out. Vav told them what had happened with the woman upstairs and they all seemed to share a moment of quiet, out of respect.

–

Back at the comic book store, Gavin watched the kitten sip from a small bowl of water, his elbow resting on the counter. She was a fluffy little thing, and he'd definitely have to give her a bath later to get all the dirt and ash out of her fur.

“I just...” he started with a sigh, “I wish I could have done something.”

Ray set down his comic book and replied seriously, “You tried, man. Shit happens.” He reached over to rest his hand on Gavin's shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, “It wasn't your fault, okay?”

“I know,” Gavin frowned, “but...”

“Gavin, look at me,” Ray said, a little forcefully, and Gavin glanced up at him.

“We knew this kind of thing would happen when we started. You just...you can't save everyone. And you have to try not to let it eat you when something goes wrong.”

Gavin looked down at the counter again, but nodded, as he knew Ray was right. He still felt horrendously guilty though. He couldn't even bring that woman's body back to her family.

“Try to look on the bright side,” Ray started again, “for a fire that big, it's amazing how many people got out unscathed. And you saved this little fur ball.” Ray smiled, reaching over to scratch behind the kitten's ears.

She meowed loudly, and turned away from her water bowl to bump her head against Ray's hand.

Gavin couldn't help but smile as well, watching the kitten stretch its paws out toward Ray for attention.

“You gonna keep her?” The other man asked as he picked up the kitten and touched her nose with his finger.

“Yeah, hopefully,” Gavin nodded, “I mean...Michael's more of a dog person, but I don't think he'd say no to a cat. Especially one as cute as Xena here.”

“You're naming her Xena?” Ray laughed, “that's fucking badass.” 

“Yeah, it suits her, especially after what she went through today,” Gavin held his hand out to the kitten, who wiggled out of Ray's arms to lick Gavin's fingers.

–

As it turned out, Michael had no problem adopting the kitten into their home. Apparently he had a softer spot for animals than Gavin had originally thought, and when Gavin said that the kitten was homeless, well, that had been the end of it.

“Did you even pick up any food for her?” Michael asked, exasperated. Gavin's only reply was a sheepish smile and a shrug.

“Right,” Michael rolled his eyes, followed by a reach to grab his keys off the table, “let's go to the store.”

They returned only an hour later with a large bag of dry kitten food as well as a small, fluffy bed for Xena to sleep in, cat toys, and a scratching post. The kitten seemed happy to get to play with all of her new things, but Michael was the one who looked ecstatic as he waved one of the toys around above her head.

Gavin grinned before he scurried to sit beside Michael, then squawked at him to let him have a turn.

–

Several nights later, Gavin was woken up by the sound of his phone going off. Groggily, he snatched it from his pocket, effectively stopping the shrill sound. He rubbed his neck with his free hand, feeling it cramping from the awkward position he'd fallen asleep in. The couch had definitely seemed more comfortable before he'd fallen asleep.

He looked down and saw Michael sprawled out with his head resting in his lap, sleeping peacefully. Xena was curled up on his chest, subtly being moved up and down as Michael breathed. Gavin sighed as he squinted at his phone, not really wanting to go anywhere.

It was a text from Ray of course; an address was listed, but there was nothing else to tell him what to expect. Confused, Gavin set his phone aside and got up from his spot, careful not to wake Michael. Xena briefly opened her eyes to watch him, but quickly went back to sleep, uninterested.

With a quiet groan, Gavin stretched his arms above his head, sighing as his back cracked. He kept light on his feet as he headed into the bedroom to quickly change into his Vav outfit. He peeked into the living room one last time, watched Michael shift in his sleep, before he turned and opened the bedroom window to disappear into the night.

–

“So what's up? Why all the mystery?” Vav asked when he finally arrived at the address Ray had sent him. It was a cargo bay, several miles long, filled with rows and stacks of metal shipment containers. He and X-Ray met near one of the closed and locked gates surrounding the area, sticking to the shadows to remain out of sight.

“I got a tip,” X-Ray replied, peering through the fence, “There's supposed to be a big drug move here tonight. Only a handful of security guards watch this place. No cameras. Plenty of places to hide.”

Vav nodded, “It's damn big. You got a plan?”

“Not exactly,” X-Ray shrugged, “but I know we'll find them easier if you check it out from above. We'll figure something out once we know how many guys we're dealing with.”

“Alright, fair enough,” Vav replied then stepped back from the gate, “Should be back in ten.” With that, he took off and soared through the air. He was sure to go up high enough to not be spotted, careful to stay away from the lighter clouds in the sky. 

He moved quickly across the shipment yard, scanned the area for signs of movement, and it wasn't until he was toward the center that he spotted some. Three black trucks were parked alongside a container with its door opened wide. He could see two or three men stood outside, but it was hard to say how many were still in the trucks, or inside the cargo container.

Noting the location, he quickly headed back to X-Ray to relay the information. They decided they'd need a closer look before coming up with a plan, so they headed into the shipment yard, as Vav leaded X-Ray back to where he'd seen the men.

Moving light on their feet, the two made their way through the rows of containers, stopping only when they heard voices, pressing their backs against one of the crates.

“How many more?” a gruff voice asked, “I'm tired of this shit.”

“Quit your bitching, we only got a few left.”

Vav glanced back at X-Ray, who widened his eyes, using his powers to see through the crates.

“Seven guys,” he whispered, “Two in the middle truck, the rest are moving stuff into the crate.”

“Any guns?”

“On all of them,” X-Ray sighed, blinking and looking away from the men. “If we get the jump on them, though, it shouldn't be an issue.”

Vav nodded, and the two quickly came up with a plan, before they sprang into action. X-Ray snuck around the side of the crates while Vav stayed where he was, ready to surprise them from both sides.

Once X-Ray had disappeared, Vav waited a few moments before he took a deep breath and quickly jumped around the corner of the crate. He prompted to release a sonic scream which made the men shout and cover their ears immediately. When they tried to reach for their guns, X-Ray rushed into the fold and melted the weapons.

Vav ducked as one of the men took a blind swing at his head, and he quickly sidestepped around and behind him to kick him in the back of the knees. He squawked when he was suddenly grabbed from behind and turned around, a fist aimed straight for his face. Vav shut his eyes, braced for the impact—but he only heard the man shout. When he peeked, X-Ray had punched the man in the stomach, and sent him hurtling to the ground.

“Man, you gotta take some self-defense classes or something.” The other superhero said, as he quickly dodged as another one of the thugs tried to attack him from behind. Vav watched in mild awe as X-Ray did a back-flip over the man and kicked him in the back. The man fell forward and slammed his head into the ground, causing Vav to wince.

“That's gonna hurt tomorrow!” he laughed then jumped over the man to help X-Ray (though it looked like he didn't really need it.)

It wasn't long before all of the thugs were down, knocked unconscious and tied up. X-Ray and Vav made their way over to the black truck with the two other men in it and X-Ray opened the door. The two inside immediately held their hands up in a show of surrender, and X-Ray pulled them out of the truck.

“Alright fellas,” he started once the two were outside and on the ground beside their passed out friends, “We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Who's your boss?”

The two men shared a nervous look, but neither of them said anything, making Vav frown.

“All we need's a name,” the Brit said, and one of the men shook his head.

“We—We don't know nothin'!”

“Well that's a bloody lie and we all know it,” Vav huffed as he grabbed the man's collar in what he hoped was an intimidating way. “Just tell us what we wanna know.”

The man winced, jerked back from Vav and vigorously shook his head head, “No, no, no—!” he froze suddenly, his eyes widened in terror. “I won't say anything! I promise, I—please don't—”

Vav quickly let go of him, backing up in concern. At this point, the man had ceased talking, his mouth hanging open as he started to breathe heavily, almost wheezing. Veins began to raise against his skin, glowing an angry red, and Vav closed his eyes against the sudden heat his body was giving off.

The veins began to pulse, and X-Ray stepped back, reaching out to grab Vav's arm.

“Vav,” he said quietly, eyes still glued to the man, whose pupils had gone white.

“Vav, move!” X-Ray shouted, taking off to the right and tugging the other superhero along behind him. They'd barely cleared the area, diving behind one of the shipment crates before the explosion went off.

“Bloody hell!” Vav shouted, the heat that'd been coming off the man before was nothing compared to this. He and X-Ray waited on the side of the crate until the dust blew past them and settled, leaving an eerie stillness over the yard. Vav was the first one to peek around the side of the crate, his eyes widened at the sight.

A huge crater had been blown into the ground, and the metal on the front side of the crate had melted. The man was nowhere to be seen, and neither were any of the others, only scorched shadows that resembled bodies. One of the trucks had caught fire and Vav covered his mouth, gagging, when he saw the blood splattered across the fender.

“Holy fucking shit,” X-Ray breathed, taking in the sight of destruction. “We gotta... We'll tell Burnie and Joel what happened, but...we fucking gotta get out of here, man.” he said, as he looked at Vav, who nodded, still wide-eyed.

The two quickly darted off, back toward the front gate, unaware of the dark figure that watched them from the shadows.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guess what!! This fic now has a fanmix to go along with it: http://8tracks.com/scootsaboot/baby-are-you-a-bomb

“Did you at least find out who was running the show? What gang it was?” Burnie pressed, lines of frustration showing on his face when X-Ray shook his head. They'd been sitting in an interrogation room for nearly two hours now, and the detective was displeased with the lack of information.

X-Ray and Vav had come straight from the scene to the police station, and after being checked for injuries, had sat down with Joel and Burnie to explain what had happened. Unfortunately, the information they had was slim, since their only sources had literally blown up in their faces.

There was a tap on the two-way mirror, and Burnie sighed, getting up from his seat. He didn't excuse himself as he stepped out, shutting the door behind him.

“Can we go home now?” Vav asked with a frown, “We told you everything, and it's almost three in the bloody morning.”

“I know, I know,” Joel replied, trying to placate the superhero, “I don't wanna be here either. But we just have to make sure we learn everything we can about the situation before we let you go.”

Vav sighed in irritation, his leg bouncing impatiently and of its own accord. He just wanted to go home—the events from earlier still running through his head and putting him on edge. He knew it was ridiculous, but he was worried about Michael. There was an anxious feeling tugging at him, and he just wanted to make sure Michael was okay, still sprawled out on the couch where he'd left him.

His train of thought was broken as the door opened again and Burnie returned, looking even more disgruntled than he had before.

“They're gonna quarantine the entire yard. That guy who exploded? Turns out he was nuclear.” He eyed X-Ray and Vav warily, “You guys aren't feeling sick, are you?”

They both shook their heads, and Burnie nodded. “Good. We're gonna get you checked out by our guys just to be on the safe side, though. It's pretty highly concentrated radiation.” He crossed his arms, muttering something about superheroes and the damn messes they created.

Not long after, X-Ray and Vav were both checked over, and were found to have no traces of radiation on them. When one of the agents remarked how lucky they were, X-Ray shrugged and replied, they don't call us 'super' for nothin'.”

It was a long night, but finally the two were allowed to leave, with promises to Burnie that they'd let him know if they found out anything new.

Strolling out of the police station, the two superheroes bid each other good night to head to their homes in opposite directions. Vav ended up stopping by the comic book store to change clothes, not wanting to head home in his costume just in case Michael was awake.

Locking up the store after he'd changed, Gavin stuck his hands in his pockets as he made his way home. Usually he would've admired the city lights, but tonight he didn't want to meander, and held a quick pace all the way back to the apartment.

When he finally arrived in front of his door, Gavin quietly unlocked it and peered inside. The lights were all shut off, and only the muted infomercials on the television allowed him to see the room. A small sigh of relief escaped him when he saw Michael curled up on his side, still sleeping on the couch, Xena pressed against his back.

Gavin smiled tiredly, closing and locking the door behind him as he stepped into the living room. He quietly padded over to the couch, leaning down to gently shake the older man's shoulder. Xena lifted her head, looking up at him with perked ears.

“Michael,” he said quietly, leaning closer when the man didn't stir, “my little Michael, wake up.” That got a quiet groan out of his boyfriend, and Gavin laughed a little, continuing. “Michael, the couch is no place to sleep. You're gonna be bloody sore in the morning.”

“Ughh,” the curly-haired man turned his head, squinting up at Gavin, just barely awake. “What?” he asked, his voice raspy from sleep. 

“Time for bed,” Gavin hummed, “Real bed, I mean.”

When Michael didn't move, closing his eyes again, Gavin huffed, reaching over to poke him in the ribs. Michael immediately frowned, his body tensing; Gavin grinned, poking the man again, and again, until Michael was squirming in an attempt to get away.

Finally, he sat up and smacked Gavin's hand away, a sleepy glare on his face.

“C'mon, you pleb,” Gavin snickered, pulling a reluctant Michael to his feet. The older man rubbed his eyes as Gavin lead him to the bedroom, Xena hopping off the couch and trailing after them.

As soon as he was able, Michael collapsed on their shared bed, burying his face into the pillow and not bothering with blankets. Gavin rolled his eyes, moving around the side of the bed to yank the sheets out from under Michael's body. Once they were free, he draped them over the other man, before climbing into bed beside him, arms immediately latching around him.

Gavin closed his eyes, sighing as he pressed himself against Michael's side, enjoying the warmth and sense of security the other man offered. Moments later, Xena jumped onto the bed, making Michael her bed once again. 

The next morning, coverage of the shipment yard explosion was on every news channel, and on the headline of every major online publication. Gavin sipped at his coffee as he watched the television, leaning on the kitchen counter.

Beside him, Michael crunched his cereal, a frown on his face as he stared at his iphone intently. “So first there were people getting sick, and now there's been a fuckin nuclear explosion. And the police say they have everything under control. What a fucking comfort.”

“They just don't want people to panic...and it was a really small, controlled explosion. They said the levels of radiation were really low” Gavin offered with a small shrug, well-aware of the information they weren't releasing to the public.

“Whatever.” Michael muttered, shoving another spoonful of lucky charms into his mouth. Gavin sighed, not blaming the other man for being concerned. They were lucky that the explosion had had such a small radius, but they still had no idea who those guys were working for, or how, exactly, that man had...blown up. There had been no traces of an actual bomb anywhere, and Gavin was convinced there wouldn't be, as he remembered the glowing red veins on the man's skin.

Shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts away and looked for a distraction. He looked up at the television again, seeing that they'd finally cut to another, more lighthearted segment. The state fair had been in town for several weeks now, and with July 4th coming up, they were really pushing for people to come.

It could be fun; Gavin really liked going to the fair, and being able to enjoy fireworks up close would be a treat.

He looked over at Michael, grinning; the auburn-haired man was still distracted by his iPhone, and jumped in his seat when Gavin poked him in the side.

“Jesus,” he grumbled, frowning at Gavin, who scooted closer to him, their elbows bumping on the counter.

“Michael,” Gavin chirped, “we should go to the fair on the fourth! It can be like our makeup date!”

“The fair, huh?” Michael rose an eyebrow, talking around the food in his mouth. “You gonna pay for it?”

“Of course, you doughnut!” Gavin laughed, wrapping his arm around Michael's neck and pressing a kiss to his temple. “I still owe you from last time.”

“Damn right you do,” Michael scoffed, finishing his cereal. He glanced at the time on his phone then and sighed, mumbling about being late for work. Michael got up from his seat and put his dishes in the sink, grabbing his beanie off the counter and pulling it down over his curls. 

“You got work today?” he asked, and Gavin shook his head. He'd gotten a day off at the comic book store, but of course he and Ray would be suiting up for patrol soon, so wasn't going to be able to just laze around.

The two said goodbye, and Michael headed out moments later, hands shoved in his pockets. Once he was gone, Gavin tidied up a bit, washed the dishes in the sink before heading out to meet up with Ray for their patrol.

–

“Kinda quiet today, isn't it?” Vav sighed as he looked down over the city. He and X-Ray were perched atop the empire state building, keeping an eye out for trouble from above. So far that day, they'd stopped two robberies, but beside that, things had been unusually calm.

“Maybe that explosion freaked them out. Everyone's staying inside, y'know?” X-Ray offered with a shrug. Vav nodded absentmindedly, moving to sit on the edge of the building, swinging his legs.

It was a few minutes before X-Ray spoke again, “Sooo...you got any plans for Fourth of July?”

“Yeah,” Vav grinned, nodding, “we're gonna go to the fair and watch the fireworks.”  
“Shit, that sounds awesome.” X-Ray replied, “You think me and Courtney could tag along? We've been looking for something to do.”

“Yeah, I don't see why not. The more the merrier.”

Their conversation was cut short when they heard the distant sound of police sirens. The two immediately perked up, Vav standing from his seat.

“Looks like that's our cue.”

Vav wrapped his arm around X-Ray and the two soared off the building, heading towards the ruckus only a few blocks away. When they got a bit closer, they saw that the police were engaged in a high speed chase, following a small black car down the busy streets.

With effort, Vav followed the cars, X-Ray's grip on him border-lining on painful. He grit his teeth as he managed to pass one of the police cars, and quickly began to approach another, the criminal's car in his view.

“Don't you dare drop me.” X-Ray warned from his side, but Vav ignored him, focusing on picking up speed. In a matter of moments, he surpassed the second police car, until finally, he was flying directly above the black car they were chasing.

“Vav, I swear to God—“

“You're gonna land on top of the car, you'll be fine!” Vav shouted over the wind, maneuvering himself into position above and slightly ahead of the black vehicle.

“Ready?” he asked, and despite X-Ray vigorously shaking his head, Vav let go. X-Ray would deny the high pitched scream later, and he flailed his arms as he fell. It wasn't as far of a drop as he'd thought though, and within moments, he'd landed on top of the car, the metal lurching violently underneath him.

“Holy hell!” he shouted, crouching down as the car swerved, the driver obviously surprised. X-Ray looked up, shooting Vav a nasty glare—to which he got a grin in reply. Looking down again, he kept himself steady as he focused his power, red lasers shooting from his eyes and cutting into the roof of the car.

Once he'd cut a circle big enough for him to jump through, he lifted the metal, quickly dodging as it flew off and behind him. Without further ado, he slipped inside, finding himself in the backseat of the car.

The man in the front seat glanced back at him, a panicked look on his face as he quickly and shakily tried to lift his gun. X-Ray moved faster than he did though, quickly melting the weapon with his laser vision. The man yelped, dropping the heated metal, and X-Ray wasted no time climbing up to the front, sending his fist into the man's jaw.

He recoiled in pain, suffering only a moment before X-Ray hit him again, this time on a pressure point, effectively rendering him unconscious. As soon as he was out, X-Ray grabbed the wheel with one hand to keep control of the car, before kicking the man's foot off the gas pedal.

Nearly sitting on the criminal, the superhero struggled to reach the brake, stretching his leg until he felt it beneath his foot, the car immediately slowing. He sighed in relief as the car's speedometer dropped, and eventually the vehicle rolled to a stop. The sirens behind him grew louder, and he put the car in park before climbing out through the passenger side door, tripping over the rising and nearly eating shit on the pavement.

He caught himself, however, and looked up, glaring, when he heard obnoxious laughter from Vav. The other superhero grinned at him, giving him a thumbs up.

“Asshole,” X-Ray huffed, stepping away from the car as the police rushed forward, pulling the criminal out from the driver's seat and arresting him.

“It worked didn't it?” Vav laughed, patting X-Ray on the shoulder when he was close enough, “What else were we gonna do?”

“Yeah, yeah,” X-Ray shrugged him off, “gimme a little more warning next time though. I may have peed my pants a little.” Vav laughed again, and the two watched as the police moved the unconscious man into the back of a squad car.

It wasn't long before some of the police officers came up to them with their thanks, and people off the street followed until there was a ring of them surrounding the two superheroes. Cameras went off, and pictures were shoved under their noses, begging for their signatures.

They happily obliged for a few minutes, Vav signing a picture of himself with his messy scrawl. He and X-Ray posed for a picture with a gaggle of teenage girls, smiles wide, when Vav felt it. A sudden cold shudder raced down his spine and he blinked, suffering from the unnerving feeling of being watched.

He looked around, trying to see through the crowd of people for anyone who looked out of the ordinary. He didn't see anyone, but the feeling didn't go away, and he nervously glanced at X-Ray.

“Hey,” he said lowly, “you get the feeling we're being watched?”

“Uh, we're surrounded by like fifty people, Vav. No shit.” X-Ray replied, grinning for another photo.

“No, I mean...” Vav trailed off, spotting a man watching them from across the street. He blinked, barely getting a glimpse of him before he was gone, as if he'd never been there to begin with. Vav swallowed, thoroughly creeped out.

“Alright,” he said loudly, his voice a little higher pitched than normal, “sorry ladies, but it's time for us to go.” The women around them voiced their disappointment, a few shouting out their phone numbers before the police started to disperse the crowd, allowing the superheroes to escape.

“Man, I don't know how celebs do it. Having to deal with that all the time.” X-Ray said once they were several blocks from the chaos. “I mean, don't get me wrong the attention's nice and all, but man am I glad we've got secret identities.”

Vav hummed beside him, watching the area around them as they walked down the street.

“Dude,” X-Ray said, nudging the other superhero, “you even listening to me?”

“Huh?” Vav looked back at the shorter man, “Oh, yeah, sorry. Just...” the feeling of being watched was gone, but it had been enough to make him uncomfortable. He shook his head, “Forget it. Think I'm just tired from last night, y'know?”

“Yeah, I got'cha.” X-Ray nodded, “You need some coffee or something? We could take a break for while.”

“Sounds good.” Vav smiled, liking the prospect of a drink and some time to relax.

–

Later, the two were seated at a corner table at the Patch, Gavin sipping at his third coffee of the day, a half-eaten danish in front of him.

“So you think Michael would be cool with picking us up?” Ray asked, “I kinda have no way of getting there otherwise.”

“Yeah, I don't think he'll mind. As long as you buy him some bevs,” Gavin replied, stuffing the remainder of his danish in his mouth.

“That's attractive,” Barbara said, rolling her eyes as she came up to their table. Gavin smiled wide, his cheeks round and full of food. “It taste good?” she asked with a laugh, to which Gavin replied with a “Tippy top!”

“Ugh, gross. Swallow your food,” she made a face, putting her hand on her hip. Barbara quickly smiled again, looking over at Ray.

“So where are you guys going?”

“Eavesdropper,” Ray hissed, which earned him a slap on the arm.

“Shut up!” Barbara huffed, “it's not my fault you assholes talk so loud.”

“We're goin' to the fair!” Gavin interrupted with a grin.

“Oooh, for the fourth?” The two men nodded, and Barbara clapped her hands in excitement. “We're going too! We should meet up and watch the fireworks together!”

“Yeah, for sure!” Gavin agreed, and the three of them talked about the rides they wanted to go on, as well as what time they'd meet up. Once they finished planning, Gavin and Ray said their goodbyes as they headed out, ready to go back on patrol now that they'd had a break.

The patrols over the next few days were tense, the feeling of being watched only growing stronger. It made Vav jumpy, and he rarely stayed in one place for long, and always looked around any area he was in, watching for anyone who looked suspicious. But every time he looked, there was absolutely nothing there, and it started to make him feel a little crazy.

The next time they met with Joel and Burnie, they didn't tell the detectives about potentially being watched, knowing they'd have no way to help them. The detectives did have news for them, however. They'd taken a blood sample from the scene of the explosion and sent it to the lab—and they'd actually gotten results.

The blood was from a man named Erin Jacobs, a low-level criminal who'd done time some ten years ago. They were sure he had some gang affiliations, but they'd yet to look into it just yet. But, it was a step in the right direction, getting them that much closer to figuring out who was in charge of the majority of the city's drug trade, as well as who was behind the radioactivity.

The news gave Vav a little relief, leaving him hopeful that the mess would be over soon and the feeling of being watched would go away. 

–

When July Fourth rolled around, Gavin pushed thoughts of the radiation killings to the back of his mind. All he wanted to do was enjoy the day with Michael and their friends.

“Gavin, hurry the fuck up!” he heard Michael shout from the living room, causing him to giggle as he put on his sandals.

“I'm coming you minge, be patient!” he replied, scurrying out of the bedroom. Spotting Xena on the couch, he scooped her up and pressed a kiss to her head, rubbing behind her ears and cooing at her.

“We'll be back soon, sweet girl!” Gavin smooched her again and set her back down on the couch, where she immediately shook herself and started to primp her mussed fur. The Brit turned on his heel, grinning as he made his way over to Michael, using his height to his advantage and slinging his arms around the other man's shoulders.

The two made their way downstairs and to the car, stopping at Ray's place to pick up him and Courtney before they began the forty-five minute drive to the fairground. The ride was loud and obnoxious, Ray and Gavin exchanging lighthearted insults while the Brit fiddled with the radio, only to get yelled at by Michael to just 'choose a fucking station'.

When they finally arrived at the fair, the four clambered out of the car, grabbing water bottles from the trunk.

“Ugh, it's bloody hot out here.” Gavin complained as the group made their way to the ticket lines.

“No shit.” Michael snorted, sticking his hands in his pockets. Luckily, the line moved pretty quickly, and it wasn't long before they'd all gotten their wristbands and headed inside.

“Let's go on that one first!” Courtney chirped, pointing at a ride called the Whirl and Twirl, which, as its name suggested, involved getting strapped into a seat that spun around and went up and down at the same time. They'd come at just the right time, with only a couple of people ahead of them in line.

Gavin took his sandals off before he got in a seat, afraid he'd lose them if he kept them on. Michael took the seat beside him, while Ray and Courtney sat in the ones just across from them. Gavin swung his legs, grinning with excitement as the attendees came around and fastened their safety harnesses.

“Woohoo!” Gavin shouted when the ride finally started up, the metal gears turning as their seats rose higher in the air. The ride moved them around in a circle a few times first, slowly picking up speed until the locks on their seats clicked, disengaging. Their seats began to spin, turning them upside down and up again, and Gavin couldn't help but squawk with excitement.

He heard Michael laughing beside him, which only made him grin wider. The ride slowed after a few minutes, until it came to a complete stop, the seats lowered to the ground once again. The group unbuckled themselves and Gavin put his sandals back on, grabbing Michael's hand as they headed out to find another ride.

The small group eventually split up a few hours later, Ray and Courtney wanting to take a break and eat while Michael and Gavin headed over to the game area. As they made their way down the row of booths, Gavin had to stop and laugh when he spotted the prizes at one of the games.

“Michael, look! It's X-Ray and Vav!” he pointed up where the plushies were hanging on the side of the booth. “We gotta get one!” he jumped up and down excitedly, racing over to the booth, ignoring Michael's muttered “Why?”

“Hey there!” the girl behind the booth smiled at Gavin, “it's just five dollars for five rings. You toss the rings on the bottles. You get one, you get a small prize, two gets you one of the ones on the side, and three gets you a big one.” She pointed up at the large sized plushes of tigers and unicorns.

“Michael, I just need to get two!” Gavin said excitedly, all too eager to hand over his money while Michael crossed his arms, rolling his eyes.

The girl handed Gavin the multicolored rings, and he grabbed one, squinting and sticking out his tongue in concentration and he tried to line up a shot. He tossed it, and missed horribly, the ring flying off to the right, and hitting the side of the booth.

“Ah, bollocks.” he blinked, before grabbing another ring to try again. He took a bit more time for the second attempt, trying to focus better, but ultimately missed again, though not as bad as before. Gavin continued trying until he ran out of rings to throw, frowning in defeat as the girl shrugged and said, “Maybe next time!”

Gavin turned, pouting at Michael who sighed loudly, before stepping up beside him. “Move over, you fuckin' baby.” He paid the girl another five dollars and took his rings, scowling when he tossed the first one, only to have it bounce off the rim of one of the bottles.

The second toss, however, landed dead on, as did the third and fourth. Michael didn't bother throwing the last one, he just nudged Gavin, who smiled brightly and pointed at the X-Ray and Vav plushies he wanted. Since Michael had technically won the largest prize, the girl was willing to give them two of the smaller ones, bidding them goodbye as they left the booth.

Gavin looked down at the prizes in his hands, squinting at the Vav plush's comically large nose. “His face doesn't look quite right.” he said with a pout, holding it up for Michael to see.

Michael inspected it for a second before laughing, “His nose is almost as big as yours!”

“Oi! Wanker!” Gavin shoved him, only making Michael laugh harder.

“How does he fly with that fuckin' thing weighing him down?”

“It's not that big!” Gavin huffed in reply, feeling a little insulted as he looked down at the plush. “Besides, it doesn't matter what they look like, I still think they're pretty top.” he added after a moment, feeling a sense of pride in his secret work.

Beside him, Michael rose an eyebrow and smirked, “you totally have a crush on them, don't you?”

“Wha—no!” Gavin spluttered, “I just think they're cool!”

“Uh huh, sure.” Michael rolled his eyes.

There was a moment of silence between them before Gavin spoke up again. “My nose is pretty damn big, isn't it?” he asked with a laugh.

“Astronomical,” Michael quipped, wrapping his arm around Gavin's neck. “But it suits your big dumb face.” he added with a grin, leaning over to kiss the taller man's cheek. Gavin smiled, his face reddening slightly.

“C'mon you pleb, let's go ride the ferris wheel.” Gavin said, tucking the plushies under his arm before half-dragging the auburn-haired man to the ride.

It was a few hours later, when the sun was beginning to set, that Michael and Gavin met up with Ray and Courtney again. Together, they headed to the firework viewing area, which was a cleaned out lot on the fairgrounds where people had already begun to lay out blankets to sit on. Michael went to grab theirs from the car, laying it out in a spot that hadn't already been taken when he returned.

It didn't take long for Barbara to find them, with Kerrie, Chris, Kara, and Miles along with her. They set out their blanket as well, getting settled beside them. The groups talked while they waited for the sun to completely set, passing around a few beers from Miles' cooler to make the time go by more quickly.

It was around seven o'clock when the lights in the fair all went out, leaving the area in darkness. Several people cheered, but a hush quickly came over them, the excitement in the air tangible as they waited for the first firework to go off.

And they weren't disappointed when, moments later, a light shot up in the air, exploding into an array of colors across the sky. More people cheered, Michael and Gavin included, as the firework show began.

Gavin smiled, watching the fireworks as a sense of calmness washed over him. After a moment, he looked away from the fireworks and watched Michael instead. The other man was oblivious, staring up at the night sky, the reflection of the colors illuminating his face against the darkness.

The Brit couldn't help but stare at him, which eventually got the other man's attention. Michael tilted his head, raising an eyebrow at Gavin as he asked, “What?”

Gavin shrugged, speaking quietly so only Michael would hear him, “I'm just...really happy to be here. With you.”

Michael watched him for a moment longer before muttering, “Fuckin' sap.” His words betrayed him however, as he leaned over and captured Gavin's lips with his own. Gavin smiled into the kiss, scooting closer to the shorter man, his arm wrapping around Michael's waist as he decided that there was nowhere else in the whole world he'd rather be.


	4. Chapter 4

Gavin sighed and rested his head against the back of the couch, closing his eyes. The last few months had been stressful and frustrating and _tiring_. He and X-Ray had teamed up with the police department to help track down 'Chernobyl,' as the media had so lovingly named him.

Unfortunately, with no leads, they were left searching for gang members who might have been affiliated with the men who'd been at the shipment yard on the night of the explosion. It wasn't easy—most of the time, they had to stake out bars, waiting for guys to head out for home before they grabbed them and questioned them.

So far, it hadn't worked out to their advantage. None of the guys they'd found knew shit. Either they were extremely good liars, or they really had no idea who the killer was. None of them knew his street name, what he looked like, or where he operated. It was like he didn't exist at all. It didn't sit well with Gavin, and he couldn't help but wonder if maybe they were looking in the wrong place.

The constant late nights had certainly put a strain on Gavin's relationship with Michael. It was rare for Gavin to be home longer than a few hours at a time, and when he was home, he was too tired to do anything other than sleep. Michael had noticed the bags under his eyes some time ago, but Gavin brushed it off whenever he asked about them, not wanting him to worry.

Of course, that only seemed to make the situation worse.

Gavin glanced at the empty space between him and Michael on the couch. He frowned; there shouldn't have been a space at all, but Michael's arms were crossed and his brow was furrowed as he watched the television. Gavin felt guilty, but he couldn't tell Michael what he was doing. He had a secret identity to protect him, and he didn't want to risk the other man getting into trouble because of him.

With another sigh, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep.

It was only a few hours later that Gavin woke up again; Michael had long since retired to the bedroom with Xena. Gavin carefully moved through the dark to grab his Vav costume, feeling the weight of how little sleep he'd been getting as he struggled to put it on.

Yawning, Vav left the quiet apartment and headed out into the city to meet X-Ray. Tonight they were trailing a former gang member, Esteban Presto, who was known to have dirt on just about everyone. They'd been trying to find the guy for a few weeks now—but Gavin supposed the only reason he was still alive was because he was so good at staying off the radar.

They did manage to track him down, finally, and found out he liked to hang out in a seedy bar just outside of town.

“Hey man, you okay?” X-Ray asked from Vav's side, his eyebrows raising in concern. Vav nodded, though his eyes felt heavy.

“Yeah, just tired...” he frowned at the other superhero, “How are you so bloody awake?”

X-Ray shrugged, “I make time for sleep. You should probably do that.” he added, poking Vav's side.

“It's damn hard.” Vav mumbled, fighting back another yawn. The bar they were at was called The Fox Hole, and it was a hole alright. The entrance was squished in the end of a darkened alleyway, the only light coming from the bar itself. The dark red stains on the front steps definitely set off some alarms in his head, and if they didn't need to find this guy, Vav wouldn't come within five hundred feet of the place.

For now though the two superheroes waited in the shadows, watching as drunk patrons stumbled from the bar, waiting until they caught sight of Esteban. When a man who fit the description they'd been given strutted out of the bar, they glanced at each other before quietly tailing after him. He didn't seem concerned about being followed, which made their jobs that much easier. They waited until they were a short ways from the bar before moving to stop him, X-Ray grabbing his arm and spinning him around.

“Holy f-” he shouted in surprise as X-Ray pushed him back against a worn down chain-link fence.

“Sup, Esteban?” the superhero asked, putting his hand against the fence to block him in, in case he tried to run. Esteban's eyes merely widened as he looked between the two.

“Oh shit! I don't know anything, I swear!” he held up his hands as a sign of surrender. “I'm not in with that shit anymore!”

“Yeah, yeah, we know.” Vav interrupted, wanting to get this over with quickly. “But that doesn't mean you don't still hear things. We're looking for Chernobyl. What do you know about him?”

Esteban tensed and quickly shook his head, “No way, nu uh! I don't know shit!”

The two superheroes looked at each other once again before X-Ray snatched Esteban's collar and pulled him forward. “We get it, you're retired. Chernobyl doesn't like people talking. But if you don't tell us what we need to know, you can kiss your retirement goodbye before we drop your ass off at county.”

The ex-gang member swallowed thickly, still looking nervous about spilling anything he might know. Vav scowled, raising his fist, and Esteban immediately yelped, “Okay, okay! All I know is he doesn't hire any new guys! That's why no one around here's ever seen him!”

“What else?” Vav urged him on, hoping that wasn't the only bit of information Esteban knew. Luckily, the other man nodded, continuing.

“I also heard that he...puts a mark, on his guys. Usually around their necks.”

“What kind of mark?” X-Ray asked quickly, narrowing his eyes.

“I've only heard this, okay! But...the marks look like hand prints.”

“So what are they? Tattoos?” Vav furrowed his brow, trying to imagine the image in his head.

“No, burns. Nasty ones. All scabbed over and shit, you know?”

X-Ray and Vav both froze at that, the cogs in their heads turning as they tried to put two and two together. Shaking his head, X-Ray let go of Esteban's collar, and motioned for him to get lost. He took off, grateful, and disappeared down the road.

“Dude.” X-Ray turned to Vav once he was gone, a serious tone in his voice.

“I know.” Vav sighed, and with one last look toward the bar, the two headed off to the police station to tell Burnie and Joel what they'd learned.

–

“So, wait, You're telling me the guy—Chernobyl—is fucking radioactive himself?” Burnie asked, having a hard time grasping the idea.

“It's not that far-fetched, is it?” Vav replied, with a shrug, “None of the victims had ever been near a nuclear site. No explosives at the shipment bay. How else do you explain it?”

“So...basically, his body is full of radioactive energy, and he can control the output of that energy.” Joel interrupted, laying out the idea simply.

“Yeah, that's the basics of it,” X-Ray nodded, “obviously we still don't know if it has a limit or not. But this guy's dangerous. Way more dangerous than we originally thought. If he wanted to, he could probably destroy the entire city.”

“Well we're damn sure not gonna let that happen.” Burnie growled. “We'll get started on looking for guys with the mark on them. We need to find this fucker, and fast.”

–

Gavin didn't have the opportunity to return home until the next morning, having spent most of the night at the police station, going over the places they'd already looked and where they would start next. The sun was up and shining by the time he stepped in through the front door of his and Michael's apartment.

He sighed as he was instantly bombarded by the smell of freshly brewed coffee, a smile forming on his face. It dropped when he spotted Michael sitting at the kitchen table, wide awake. A familiar sense of guilt washed over him at the thought of his boyfriend waking up alone, again.

“Hey.” he said quietly after a few moments, shutting the door behind him. Michael fiddled with his coffee mug, not looking up to meet Gavin's eyes. The Brit sighed, his shoulders slumping as he made his way over to the table, sitting across from Michael.

“I'm really sorry,” Gavin said quickly, leaning forward, “I just—”

“Gavin,” the other man interrupted him, finally looking up from his half-empty cup. “Dude, I'm trying to be understanding, or whatever. Like you have your own life and I don't wanna be a fucking controlling asshole.”

Gavin nodded along, anxiety building in his chest as he waited for Michael to continue.

“But, you're never,” he paused, brow furrowed, “you're never fucking here anymore, and I have no idea what the fuck you're doing or where you are.”

“I know, I'm sorry,” Gavin repeated, biting his lip, “I've just been caught up with...work stuff.” Not a complete lie, he thought to himself to relieve a little guilt. Michael's face didn't help as it went from mildly upset to angry.

“Work stuff?” Michael scoffed, “You work in a fucking comic book store. It closes at five, and you still don't come home till three, four in the morning, if at all.” The freckled man let out an irritated sigh, and Gavin could tell he was trying really hard to keep his cool.

“If this is gonna work, you need to be fucking honest with me,” Michael continued, his voice raising a bit as he looked at Gavin expectantly.

Gavin opened his mouth, trying to form a believable story, but he couldn't, shutting his mouth again with a click. The idea of lying to Michael made his insides twist, but he couldn't tell him the truth either, knowing it could put him in danger.

Across from him, Michael stood up, a scowl on his face as he pointedly didn't look at Gavin. He shoved his beanie on his head before turning to leave.

“Call me when you fucking figure it out.” he snapped, heading through the front door and slamming it behind him.

“God dammit.” Gavin muttered, resting his head on the table in defeat.

–

“Look alive!” X-Ray shouted, causing Vav to snap his head up just in time to see the fist aimed towards his face. He stumbled back when it connected, yelping as he ducked another punch. His crime-fighting partner quickly jumped into the situation, sending the burglar into the pavement in a matter of moments.

Vav winced, touching his sore nose, frowning when his glove came away with blood on it.

“Dude.” X-Ray moved to stand beside him, after setting the knocked-out burglar against the front of a nearby building. “What's up? You're totally out of it.”

Vav shrugged, wiping at his nose, “Didn't get much sleep last night.” he replied lamely.

“Yeah, that seems to happen a lot,” X-Ray said with genuine concern in his voice. “C'mon man, after the popo show up, let's get a drink.”

Once the burglar was in handcuffs and laying in the back of a police car, the two superheroes left the scene and headed to The Patch. Feeling a little more comfortable in his civilian clothing, Gavin's shoulders sagged as he leaned back in his chair. His nose had long since stopped bleeding, but the tissues he'd used to stop the flow were still lodged in his nostrils.

Across from him, Ray sipped at his drink and sighed in contentment before glancing at Gavin with a serious look.

“Alright, you gonna tell me what's wrong or do I have to pry it out?” he asked, leaning his arm over the back of his chair.

Gavin shrugged, “We're out almost every night. I dunno. It's just damn tiring.”

Ray nodded, understanding, “Yeah, it's been kinda rough lately. But you gotta make time to take care of yourself, you know? Sleep is kind of important, so change your schedule around if you have to. Take naps. Whatever, dude.”

“Yeah.” Gavin mumbled, looking down at the table with a frown.

“If you need a break or something, just let me know, alright? I can take care of a few robbers and shit by myself just fine if you need a day off.” the other man continued, shoving a pastry into his mouth. “Besides,” he said, talking around the food, “once we catch Cherry, we can stop doing this late night crap.”

Gavin snorted at Ray's nickname for the villain, moving to rest his chin in his hand. There was a moment of silence between them before Ray spoke up again, frowning.

“Something else bothering you?” he asked, and Gavin sighed, irritated that his friend was so good at reading him.

“Michael's kinda pissed at me.” the Brit mumbled, and Ray rolled his eyes, laughing a bit.

“When is Michael not pissed?”

“No, I mean he's genuinely upset at me, cause I'm never home and he doesn't know where I am. That's what he said, anyway...” Gavin pouted, “I don't know what to say to him though! I don't want to lie to him, but I can't just...tell him.”

“Why not?” Ray asked around another mouthful of his pastry.

Gavin huffed in frustration, “You bloody well know why not! If he finds out I'm,” he lowered his voice to a whisper, “Vav, he'll be in danger!”

Ray rose an eyebrow, “How is that gonna put him in danger?” 

“Well!” Gavin raised his voice a bit, “You know! If someone else found out...that's just—” he stumbled over his words, realizing he didn't actually have an answer, “that's just what you do! Superheroes keep their secret identity a secret!”

“I told Courtney.” Ray shrugged, nonchalant.

“What!?” Gavin squawked, causing a few heads in the cafe to turn. He avidly ignored them, watching Ray as if he was insane.

The other man merely shrugged again, “Her knowing that I'm a superhero doesn't put her in any danger, and it's not like she's gonna run around telling people. Cause, you know, love, trust, respect, blah blah blah.”

Gavin stared at him in disbelief, causing Ray to roll his eyes once again.

“Oh come on dude, don't tell me you were never gonna tell Michael? Aren't you planning on marrying him and having gay babies together or something?”

Gavin flushed red at the accusation, stammering, “No! I mean—well...”

“Uh huh. Keeping a secret that big from someone you wanna spend the rest of your life with? Not gonna work out so well in the long run, trust me. By the way, a bit of advice? I'd be really surprised if Michael didn't think you were sleeping around.”

“What?” Gavin's eyes widened, “Why on earth would he think that?”

“Uhh, late nights? No excuses? Seem kinda fishy to you?”

Gavin closed his mouth, his brows furrowed. “Ah, bloody hell. I didn't even look at it like that...” he sighed, rubbing his eyes. “I'm a damn idiot.”

“Yep, but that's why we love you.” Ray replied, finishing off his pastry and smacking his lips.

“You really think I should tell him?” Gavin asked after a moment, still unsure about the whole thing. “Superman never tells anyone his secret identity...”

“Yeah, and Iron Man tells everyone,” Ray quipped back, “also they're not real.”

“Alright, alright. Sheesh.” Gavin smiled, his heart racing at the thought of telling Michael his secret. He'd never thought he'd tell anyone, but Ray made a really good point. It would definitely relieve a lot of the tension between them, and make it easier for them to trust each other.

He nodded to himself, feeling encouraged.

Four hours later found him in a bar stool, downing a coke and rum. After his talk with Ray, Gavin had started to make his way to Michael's work, only to have his brain start to work against him. What if Michael didn't want to be with him anymore if he knew? What if he thought he was a freak? Michael had never expressed that he liked X-Ray and Vav. What if he thought they were complete assholes?

Gavin stared at the counter, hoping the anxiety would leave along with his sobriety.

It wasn't until his head started to feel fuzzy and his fingertips started tingling that Gavin finally pulled his phone out of his pocket. He fumbled with it, having some difficulty with the touchscreen controls in his tipsy haze. After a few moments though, he managed to locate the number he was looking for, and hit the dial button.

Putting the phone to his ear, Gavin chewed on his bottom lip absentmindedly as he waited for Michael to answer.

“Yeah?” came his voice just a few seconds later, sounding tired and worn out.

“Mikey Wikey!” Gavin chirped, a lopsided grin forming on his face. He heard a sigh, but ignored it, letting the alcohol in his system do all the talking for him.

“I've gotta tell you somethin', Michael. Somethin' real important!”

There was a pause before, “...Are you drunk?”

“No!” Gavin replied, sounding affronted, before giggling, “Well not yet! Next drink ought'a do it though!” he flagged down the bartender and ordered another drink.

“Do I need to come pick you up?” Michael asked, his voice taking on a tone of irritation. Gavin shook his head, only realizing a moment later that the other man couldn't see him.

“No, my little Michael! I'll come home and tell you the big thing!”

“...Alright. That sounds good. Thanks for uh, stepping up, or whatever. You know I fuckin' hate fighting with you...”

Gavin nodded along to Michael's words, trying hard to focus on them. The alcohol made his attention span a lot shorter than normal, however, and he let his eyes wander the bar as he listened to his boyfriend speak.

He stopped when he spotted a man sitting at the other end of the bar. He was a pretty large guy, dressed in clothes that were way too nice to belong in a place like this. The thing that stood out most about him though, was the burn mark along the side of his neck. Gavin squinted, trying to get a better look at it, but the man's shirt collar covered the majority of the mark.

“and you know, it's not like—”

“Shush a minute,” he mumbled, making shushing noises at Michael, who huffed, ready to call Gavin a bad name.

“Shhh!” Gavin insisted, effectively cutting the other man off, “I gotta take care of somethin' real quick. Okay see you in an hour! Love you, smooches.” The Brit shut his phone, sliding it back into his pocket as he leaned forward on the counter, trying to subtly watch the man at the end of the bar.

It wasn't long before the man stood from his seat and headed toward the door. Gavin was quick to slip out of his bar stool and clumsily follow behind him. His phone vibrated in his pocket but he ignored it as he stepped outside. The man had made his way across the street and turned down an alleyway. Suspicious, Gavin thought, trailing after him, the alcohol in his system making it slightly more difficult than usual.

It was a good ten minutes of walking through the city before they reached the warehouse district. The buildings were abandoned and run-down, and most were blocked off for demolition. It was here that Gavin lost sight of the man he'd been following, having turned a corner too slowly and losing him completely.

“Bollocks.” he mumbled, looking around the area for any sign of movement. Gavin moved more carefully down the cracked sidewalk, his lips pursed in concentration.

He rounded a corner, watching the empty streets around him. When he saw the pipe flying toward his face, it was already too late to try and dodge it. He squawked just before the metal connected with his head and his world went black.


End file.
